1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for polarization locking optical outputs. More particularly, the present invention relates to a technique for polarization locking the optical outputs of a plurality of optical amplifiers receiving an optical input signal from a common laser source.
2. Description of the Related Art
The architecture for high power phase array fiber lasers or fiber amplifiers/lasers require that the elements of the array have a common polarization. In the past, to achieve this common polarization, it was necessary to use polarization maintaining optical amplifiers or lasers in the array or to use a double pass Faraday mirror configuration to correct for the depolarization occurring in the fiber amplifiers.
In the former case, practical high power polarization maintaining optical amplifier fibers do not exist.
In the Faraday mirror case, the amplifier has to be double passed and the Faraday mirrors have to survive the high optical power input thereto. Furthermore, the architecture is complicated and requires many components.